Fractured Memories
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: An assassin has been sent to kill Robin, but nothing is as it seems and he must discover the identity of his attacker before it's too late for both of them. They have come to claim Robin's legacy. Beware the Court of Owls.
1. Beware the Court of Owls

**Fractured Memories **

_**Summary:**__ An assassin has been sent to kill Robin, but nothing is as it seems and he must discover the identity of his attacker before it's too late for both of them. This is my massive story overhaul of "The Assassins", mainly because I didn't like how I was writing it, decided to change the story and throw out most of it._

**Beware the Court of Owls**

William Cobb stood inside the catacombs of Gotham City, looking to assign one of his many assassins' to follow his orders.

There were six figures, men and women, their faces covered by masks. They looked at the woman and spoke, "In a city divided, we are the middle."

Another man spoke up, "We are the gray of Gotham."

The third man added, "Will you _embrace_ us and all we seek to accomplish?"

She looked at them, "I will."

The man farthest to the right seemed to approve, "Then we will begin. Go to Jump City, and kill Gotham's Gray Son."

He seemed to be deep in thought, "I see you're finally ready."

"I live only to serve the Court of Owls as a Talon," the woman's voice rang out, "I only need an order."

"That's good," William smiled. "I know you have had a difficult time readjusting to everything, seeing that I found you on the verge of death and restored you to life."

"I will fulfill your wishes," she looked at him with unquestioning loyalty.

"He may be far from Gotham City, but the Court of Owls is everywhere," William Cobb looked at her.

"I'll remind you just once more. Your mission is to kill Robin the Boy Wonder, should he refuse to take up his legacy, do you understand? Kill him, and I will tell you everything you wish to know about your life. Do your job well Saiko."

"Yes, he will join us, or die." She turned and left.

William smirked. His plan was working out better than he had hoped. He had conceived the brilliant plan; he had gone through various trials and errors in an attempt to reclaim Dick Grayson, in order to force the young man to embrace his destiny. What an unfortunate thing that the boy's parents died before he was ready, but not all was lost, he had managed to salvage the situation; it had ended up working to his advantage.

Cobb smirked. "We wanted him, but we'll happily settle for you, you're not related to him by blood, but you're good enough. To think you almost failed, it would almost be a pity to reject you, but not quite."

It was funny how torture and a little white lie and a lot of indoctrination could change a good woman into a killing machine. Everything was going according to plan.

_Jump City, CA…_

Robin stood on the roof of Titans Tower, enjoying the view of his city. Everything was quiet, none of the supervillains had tried to escape, only average criminals were committing crimes and they were caught easily.

He decided to head inside. Maybe there was something on the TV to watch. He was about to turn it on when suddenly the alarm began to blare. The other Titans ran in, looking to him for orders.

"Who is it?" Cyborg asked.

"Plasmus," Robin replied. "Let's go!"

They made their way down town where Plasmus was raging in the streets, ripping a tanker filled with dangerous chemicals in half and guzzling the liquid like soda.

"You know it's very rude to drink so fast, don't you Plasmus?" Robin asked, crossing his arms.

Plasmus roared angrily and hurled the two chunks of the tanker straight at the Titans.

"Apparently, dude, he didn't like your comment," Beast Boy observed.

"Titans, Go!" Robin ordered. The others scattered, moving out of harm's way. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon, sending a powerful beam into the oozing creature. Plasmus absorbed the shot and let it move straight through him. He filled the hole in his chest and opened his mouth, sending out a steam of acid at the Titan.

Raven summoned her powers, grabbing abandoned cars and other objects to attack the supervillain. Starfire flew towards him, shooting Starbolts as she slammed into him head on. Plasmus staggered back as he tried to regain his balance.

Furious, Plasmus roared and spewed acid as he turned his attention to Cyborg, who had fired his Sonic Cannon in an attempt to take out the mutated metahuman.

The metal Titan managed to avoid the deadly chemicals as he fired another volley from his Sonic Cannon. Plasmus reached out a hand and batted him away, sending him into the side of a nearby building.

Raven rose up and summoned her powers, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Black energy shot out, hitting the monster in its midsection, leaving a large hole in its center. Plasmus inhaled deeply and closed the hole, rendering her attack useless.

Robin rushed forward, hurling a freeze disc that exploded, stopping Plasmus, if only for a moment. Beast Boy, as a rhino, plowed into the ice, shattering it. That, however, did little to deter the villain.

Raven used her powers to levitate and chanting her mantra, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she unleashed her Soul Self, the entered the villains body and knocked him unconscious, he hit the ground in a sound sleep.

"Let's get him back to jail," Robin said, staring down at a sleeping Otto Von Furth. They personally took him to the Jump City Maximum Security Prison, just to make sure he didn't wake up again and try to escape.

After Plasmus was securely locked in a cell, Robin looked at his teammates.

"How 'bout we go out for some pizza," he suggested. "No other emergencies have come in, so I say we call it a day."

"All right!" Beast Boy said, "Veggie pizza!"

"No way, man, we're eating real meat!" Cyborg protested angrily.

"Oh boy, here they go again," Raven said, rolling her eyes.

"Perhaps I should pick the pizza toppings," Starfire suggested. The other titans stared at her in horror.

"Don't worry about that, Star, we'll figure it out when we get there," Robin said nervously. They headed off to the pizza parlor.

* * *

"Cobb?" her voice called him over the phone. "Am I permitted to use any means to kill Robin?"

"Yes, use whatever you deem necessary to eliminate him."

She vanished without a word. Scouring the city, she knew exactly how she was going to draw the Boy Wonder and his friends out into the open.

The Mayor was holding a gala in honor of the Titans; it was an annual tradition, to thank the young heroes for everything they'd done to protect Jump City from villains.

She quietly found a janitor and knocked him unconscious. She had already prepared clothes to match his and slipped into them. She used a nametag with the alias Elizabeth Lloyd and walked in.

She walked through the building, hiding whenever she heard people coming; she also made sure to avoid cameras. Saiko knew this would be a difficult job, there were five super-powered heroes, things could go wrong very quickly.

But failure wasn't an option, it was impossible, with the electrum in her body, she would be almost invincible, and with her skills, targets rarely escaped. There was no running away from them, with their vast resources, they could find you anywhere, but she didn't know any life outside of killing, except for those pesky dreams that she had now and then. She'd been taken to the Court of Owls, restored to health and offered a place among them, desperate for answers about the life she couldn't remember, she accepted their offer. Tortured and starved for weeks, she proved that she was worthy of a position in the Court as a Talon, their fiercest assassin, then they told her she would sleep until they needed her. So she slept, for five years until they woke her and sent her out.

Heading back to a hideout, Saiko looked at a photograph of the Mayor, she pulled out a black pin between the Mayor's eyes, she knew there was something significant about it, but she couldn't remember what it was.

She made her way out onto the roof and waited near the skyline so she could drop down on her prey.

She had other pictures of the Titans, A blue pin for Beast Boy, red for Starfire, Cyborg and Raven, and black for Robin the Boy Wonder.

Yes, tonight was going to be quite the show.

The Titans were all dressed nicely, suits and ties for the guys, dresses for the girls, much to Raven's chagrin.

"Gee Rae, I didn't think of you as the type to wear a dress," Beast Boy grinned.

"Starfire made me wear it," Raven scowled. "What are you looking at?"

"N-nothing. You look nice, that's all," he replied. He busied himself with the Hors d'œuvres table.

Robin noticed a man standing in the corner of the room, he looked so tired and worn out. He decided to walk over to him.

"They're real. They're everywhere. And they're sending him after you—All of you."

The other Titans gathered around, they were about to leave and go out on patrol when suddenly, a figure burst through the skylight.

"I'm here to kill Dick Grayson, the fiercest killer in Gotham City," the assassin, sporting a strange green outfit and a black mask, she wore wrist claws on her hands. The voice was clearly female.

"Well lady, you're way off here, Gotham's that way," Beast Boy jerked his thumb in Gotham's general direction.

"Dick Grayson's not a killer," Robin retorted. What was this person babbling about? It didn't make any sense. "Who are you working for?"

"_Beware the Court of Owls that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."_

"It's an old nursery rhyme, but it's a _Gotham_ nursery rhyme, you're far from home, lady," Robin said, brandishing his Bo Staff.

"You abandoned your destiny, I will make you reclaim it," Saiko snarled. She lunged at him.

"Let me tell you something you may not know about me, there is one thing I believe, destinies don't exist."

"To prove just how useless you are, I'll kill your Mayor right here and now, he's in the Court's way, and can't be allowed to live."

"We'll see about that!" Robin blocked the vicious claw strikes as he ordered the Mayor, who was frozen with terror to barricade himself inside the panic room. . Saiko launched knives at the Mayor; Raven shielded him with her powers as Starfire flew him away to the panic room.

All the guests had run away. It was just the Talon, Saiko and the Titans.

They traded blows, she could match every move he made with her own. She wasn't holding back, so he decided he wouldn't either.

Robin gripped an Escrima stick and shoved it into her right eye. She didn't even flinch and pulled it out.

"What's a little pain to someone who can regenerate? Is that supposed to impress me?"

"Dude, that's crazy!" Beast Boy gaped, she shook off having an eye gouged out without breaking a sweat.

Starfire few in from across the room and hit Saiko like a freight train. Star kept punching the assassin in the face and midsection, pummeling her with a shower of Starbolts, topping it off by grabbing her and sending her straight through a wall.

She got up and looked around at the city as citizens scrambled to get away from the chaos.

"Some places have a _hunger_ about them…And either you feed them what they want…or you stay far away."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, but if you're hungry, you can eat my Sonic Cannon!" Cyborg fired off a few shots, none of them connected, the female assassin was very agile and she avoided all of them.

"All the red pins are here, good," Saiko smirked.

"What does that mean? You called me a blue pin," Beast Boy glared.

"It means, you're the weakest."

"Dude, you're going down for that!"

Beast Boy charged, transforming into an enormous green tiger. Saiko gripped a Bo Staff and placed it between her and Beast Boy's mouth as she fired the gun on her wrist and shot him before the others could react.

"Don't worry, he's not dead, I'm only killing one of you tonight."

Raven sent a stream of energy towards the assassin, she noticed that her enemy was very acrobatic and agile, her powers could barely keep up with her, but she did manage to impede Saiko from escaping.

"Ah, the black pin," Saiko sneered. "Now I can stop playing around!"

"Now that the Mayor's out of the way, we can stop her! Titans, go!"

Beast Boy came at her in the form of a green bear, he slashed and bit at her, but she avoided him. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon as he kept up a steady rain of punches and kicks.

"What?" Saiko exclaimed as Raven's powers encased her entire body. Raven threw her up and sent her slamming into the pavement, leaving a very large crater in the street.

The Titans were relentless, they refused to give up, they weren't going to let her murder the Mayor, not that she cared really, he was in the Court's way, but her primary target was Robin. Still, this encounter wasn't going like she'd planned. They were actually winning.

Saiko decided it was time to leave, she'd seen how the Titans worked and now it was time to go.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'll be going now, I'll finish you all later. I got what I came for."

"What do you mean?" Robin demanded.

"The lay of the land," Saiko through down a smoke bomb and disappeared from sight.

"We're going to spread out and find her!" the order was immediate, even though they were exhausted. They weren't going to let an assassin run around, killing people at random; innocent victims if they could help it.

It was going to be a long night; they really hoped that the alarm wouldn't go off for any other supervillain.

She ran through the dark streets and alleyways, taking to the rooftops and somersaulting over them. She arrived at an abandoned building.

"Well done, the mission was a success," William Cobb congratulated her.

"But Dick Grayson survived, he's better than I gave him credit for. Did you enjoy the show?"

"Yes, I'll fight him myself eventually, but for now, let the betrayer of Gotham's legacy search for us. All his talent. Such a waste."

He looked at her, "Go replenish your electrum and get some rest, you'll get your rematch, that was just the rehearsal, it's time to put on the show."

William began to juggle his knives like someone who had done it for years and years.

"You grow up in the circus?" Saiko asked.

"You could say that. Let's see if you can catch," William joked, he tossed the knives at her. She caught them with ease and continued juggling them.

"Not bad at all," he complimented her. He walked out of the room after she stopped juggling the knives.

"I can see why he'd be drawn to you, you too, are a part of my legacy, such a pity you were so soft-hearted and weak all those years ago," he sighed. "We would have made _him_ the next Talon if he had showed promise when he was younger, but he was too naïve and stupid, Dick Grayson however, always had the skills that we wanted."

She was alone again. For some reason, juggling those knives had brought her a passing feeling of joy that she couldn't explain. And what was it that was so familiar to her about William Cobb? She couldn't place it, nothing made sense. It didn't matter, she still had her mission to kill Dick Grayson, he didn't mean anything to her. Still, the image of Robin stayed in her mind and wouldn't go away.

Saiko tried repeatedly to put the image of Robin out of her head, but she just couldn't. "Elizabeth Lloyd" was just another fake identity. She didn't know anything about herself, not her name, her birthday, who her family was. William Cobb and the Court of Owls said they had all the answers, but he would only give them to her if she killed Robin. To get her own life back, she'd take his. It was that simple.

Nothing involving the Court of Owls was ever simple but she didn't know that at all.


	2. Talons

**Talons**

"There's something very important going on here. But why would the Court of Owls come after me, I don't even live in Gotham City anymore." Robin was trying to think of a connection besides the obvious one involving his connection to Batman as his former sidekick. But this wasn't just about Batman, this was about him, and they'd made it personal.

Robin had a picture of the mysterious Saiko, any scraps of information concerning the Court of Owls. A lot of it was mainly comprised of Gotham folklore though. Nothing concrete though, he'd heard that Batman was now openly fighting them as well.

"I've heard of the Court of Owls. My mother said it was a nursery rhyme to scare children," Raven told him.

"My Mom used to sing that nursery rhyme to me, Dad didn't like it though," Robin smiled. "Not that it helps this case much, but there must be some sort of meaning behind it."

"There are lots of "secret" organizations," Cyborg observed, entering all of Robin's data into the Titans' mainframe computer to search through every knonw record concerning this "Court of Owls". For this one to keep quiet for so long is impressive."

"But dude, you don't even live there anymore," Beast Boy pointed out, "why would some Gotham criminals want to get you? You'd think they'd be happy you were gone."

"There is one thing that I do not understand," Starfire spoke up. "She talked about Robin taking up his legacy. What does it mean?"

"I have no idea, Star, but the Court is not going to get away with running around my city. We will find them, and we will take them down!"

"They're definitely dangerous," Raven mused. "Still, there's something that's bothering me. I'm going to meditate, maybe I'll figure out what it was."

"Dude, when we were fighting, I thought I saw an owl," Beast Boy piped up.

"An owl? How's that important?" Cyborg asked.

"All I know is that it's not native to anything we have around here, maybe it was spying for them," Beast Boy was hit by the discovery. "Maybe if I find it, we can find them."

"Good work, Beast Boy, you follow that up and call me if you find anything," Robin slapped him on the back in approval. It was good to see that all of them were being serious, even Bead Boy, who rarely put on his serious face.

Robin watched the others leave the evidence room. He turned his eyes to the circus bill of the Fearless Flying Graysons.

There was something that disturbed Robin that he hadn't told the others. Saiko had mentioned colored pins. Now to them none of what she'd said made sense. However he knew what she had been referring to. When his father was alive, John Grayson would put colored pins on a map to represent the cities they'd go to and what types of performances they'd give. Blue was easy, not too many risky tricks. Red was high profile, edgier stunts. But Gotham was the Black Pin, no-holds-barred, go all-out show, no catch wires or safety nets.

To use that same system as a plan of attack was something he had implemented in his evidence room, but how could Saiko know about it? She had also quoted his father verbatim, "_Some places have a _hunger _about them…And either you feed them what they want…or you stay far away_."

He had to wonder if it was someone from Haly's circus, his parents knew a lot of people in the business who came and went from there. He looked up their website, nothing suspicious; no one he knew had left. He decided to call Pop Haly; it would hurt to ask him about it over the phone.

"Won't you come see us Dick?" Mr. Haly's voice was cheerful. "We'll be in Jump city in a week."

"All right," Dick agreed, it had been a long time since he'd gone back home, it would nice to visit his old friends. He'd take the Titans; they would definitely enjoy themselves there.

"Besides, there's something I want to talk to you about, something important. I'd rather tell you in person."

"I see. I'll definitely be there; I'll see you soon, Mr. Haly. Thanks," Dick hung up. He wondered what could be bothering the man he had always seen as a nice man, he had always thought of him as an Uncle. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something big was going on around him.

* * *

"Saiko, did you know Haly Circus is coming to Jump City?" William asked.

"Is it? I don't think I've ever been there," she frowned.

"You have, but your injuries caused you to lose your memories."

"I see. But why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to go there and help us pick the next assassin, the Court will be there and we must make sure that nothing happens to them during the selection process."

"Understood."

"You have a great legacy to live up to; perhaps you can make up for the one that got away. There is only one Talon in the book of names that did not become one of us."

She had left the room, and William continued voicing his thoughts. "We are all raised under the bright lights, the pride of Haly's Circus, the Talons, those of us, who will change cities, even the world. But I think I've told you too much. The fact that you do have amnesia is very useful to me. I've _always _known who you are."

Elizabeth Lloyd was walking away when suddenly, a headache overwhelmed her. In her mind she could see a distinct memory.

"_We're on in five minutes!" the young boy tells her excitedly._

"_Hon, are you happy here?" she asked. _

"_We aren't leaving, are we? I _never_ want to leave."_

"_I keep thinking about what it would be like to stay in _one _place like a real family."_

"_Your grandfather ran away to the circus when he was nine. I've never had a home of_ my_ own…Oh ignore me, honey. A girl can't keep from wondering, can she? I love you…"_

"_Ma, I love you too," he smiles at her._

His name. Why couldn't she remember his name? She knew that if she remembered him, she'd remember everything about herself, but she couldn't recall it no matter how hard she tried.

As a Talon, she didn't have a soul, at least that's what they had told her once she had pledged her loyalty to them. But if that was the case, why did these memories mean so much to her that she wanted them back?

Elizabeth frowned and sighed. She needed to rest, just awhile. The fight with the Titans had taken more out of her than she cared to admit. Fortunately, the Court of Owls would provide her with the precious electrum she needed to regenerate her body.

She'll be hunting for a week and she needed all the strength she could get. Elizabeth Lloyd lay down in her coffin and closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. For once she didn't have any dreams and she was actually relieved. She didn't want to keep thinking about Robin or anything else.

_Back at Titans Tower…_

Raven was deep in meditation on the roof, there was something about Saiko. She couldn't sense a soul inside the body; it was like a reanimated corpse. You could revive a dead person, but it was tricky and people tended to come back wrong. But this person could think clearly, fight and recognize other living people. This wasn't a mindless zombie.

Raven got up and walked back into the Tower. She found Robin at the mainframe computer.

"I finally discovered what was bothering me," Raven announced.

"What was it Raven?" Robin didn't know what his friend would say.

"I couldn't sense her soul, it's like she's a reanimated corpse," Raven wrung her hands. "But there's something else about her, I just can't figure out what it is."

"Dude, real life zombie mind control!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"It would have to be some really complicated tech or magic of some sort wouldn't it?" Cyborg looked over at the screen.

"Everything I've ever read on resurrection was very complicated," Raven looked over at the others. "It's all very specific, there usually has to be a very short time between when they die and when they are brought back. They also take years to plan and years to execute. Whoever is behind this, they're really good. There are "Night-Walkers", zombies. You wouldn't want to have dinner with them, but this woman wasn't one of them."

"So we're dealing with a zombie ninja assassin, that's just great! It's like my worst nightmare!" Beast Boy groaned.

"It could be worse, I'd rather find out whose pulling the strings," Robin scrutinized the new information. "I also want to know what they want with me."

"This is a strange organization, if they are so secretive, why are they revealing themselves to us? What do they want with Robin?"

"I know that Batman investigated them once, but he didn't find if they even existed or not. Now they show themselves to us. I wonder if Batman's been attacked by them."

The Titans all looked worried. But they had their own problems right now, mainly trying to find the assassin before they killed innocent civilians.

Until this was over, the Titans weren't going to get much sleep or have a lot of fun. They were all preparing for overtime involving grunt work. They promised themselves they would stop the Court of Owls, no matter what they had to do.

* * *

The old man ran, panicked, he was trapped in a maze, the labyrinth. He didn't know where to go. He'd been trapped for a week and he was starving and tired.

Suddenly, two blades pierced his chest. Saiko gripped the man and threw him to the ground. There was blood everywhere.

"My Court! My Court, he is prepared! I present to you…the former trainer of Haly Circus, the man, the incompetent fool who chose Alton Carver as a Talon, how do you wish him to die?"

"Cut his throat!" one of them shouted.

"Break his neck!"

"Bleed him!" Another shouted, he was a middle aged man.

"Hee-hee! His spine! Pull his spine!" an elderly couple shouted.

Another pair, much younger, joined in. "Let the littlest decide!"

The man's wife eagerly agreed with him, "Yes! Yes! Let her choose! What would _you_ want to see, dear?" Her mother asked her this as if she were asking her if she wanted to see a movie or get an ice cream cone. The little girl was five or six, maybe seven. She wore a pink dress and was holding a doll in her hands.

"Hurt him…_More_."

"As you wish, My Lady!"

Saiko pounded the defenseless old man mercilessly, slamming him into the wall. "Like this?" she asked. She slammed his head into the wall.

"More!" They chanted. She punched him in the gut, "More! More! More! More! More!"

She kicked the man through the wall. He was as good as dead. "He is yours, my Court! Take his bones as yours!"

She watched as the crowd leapt down on the old man and literally tore him apart with their own hands.

The younger man turned to her. "This will make up for your failure with the Titans."

"I did not fail to kill the Titans or Dick Grayson; I just wanted to test their strength. I am only loyal to the court."

"The Court does not tolerate error, or failure. Remember that, Saiko."

"Without people like me, you'd be nothing, I suggest you remember that. You hide behind your wealth and your masks; _I'm_ the one doing the killing."

"Why you impudent—" the man began to move toward her when his wife stopped him.

"Let her be, she keeps things…interesting."

"We have another assignment for you."

"Yes sir?" she asked.

"Assassinate Deathstroke, Slade Wilson; it is he, not these "Titans" the Court views as a threat. Eliminate him."

"As you wish, my Court, I will not fail this time." Saiko turned and left.

The Court would not tolerate another failure from her. The execution she'd carried out wasn't nearly enough to atone for her failure to kill Dick Grayson. She would kill Slade and change this city for the greater good.

"She's defiant, it won't end well."

"Forget her; let's tear apart the old man. Isn't it fun, dear?"

"Yes, it is."

* * *

In the darkness of a nondescript building, Slade Wilson sat deep in thought.

He thought he heard a noise and got to his feet to look around. Was it the Titans? No, they always busted down his door, they never bothered sneaking in, well, Beast Boy did once, but usually they don't bother trying to hide that they were there.

Slade heard the distinct sound of footsteps; he stood up to greet his intruder.

"Did you honestly think you could sneak up on me?"

"No, who could sneak up on Deathstroke, the master assassin?" Saiko asked. "Slade Wilson, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ scared," Slade deadpanned unenthusiastically.

Slade lunged forward, striking the assassin across the jaw, so hard it broke her neck. He heard the bones snap and stared in surprise when the woman's body regenerated.

"You have advanced healing, that will make this fight interesting," Slade quickly kicked Saiko across the face.

"Trivial…so trivial…what do you think that actually did to me?" she asked.

He barely managed to avoid the Talon's vicious Promethium claws; he unsheathed his sword, made of the same material and began parrying the strikes.

The blades met as sparks sizzled in the air. Slade gripped his sword, trying to look for the nonexistent opening. Saiko knocked the sword away and Slade tried to counterattack by knocking her off the spinning gear they were fighting on, but she performed a back flip and landed on the ground.

Slade dropped down on her and finally started landing punches and kicks, he was furious at being beaten by some no name lackey. She somersaulted at him and hit him feet first. He jumped over to where his sword was and thrust it through her chest.

"You shouldn't have underestimated me!" Slade sneered as he looked at her. He suddenly felt blades pierce his chest, barely missing his heart.

She gripped his mask and slammed him into the floor, causing the metal protecting Slade's face to crack and break, revealing his bloody, beaten state. She'd actually been able to do what Robin and the other Titans had never done, beat Slade to the point of being near death.

"You're so pathetic!" Saiko snarled.

"Am I?" Slade suddenly stabbed his enemy with a pair of knives, right in the eyes.

"Let's see you regenerate your eyes!" Slade was hurt, but he didn't care. He just wanted to kill her.

Slade reached over and grabbed the Talon, slamming her into the wall hard. He beat her with his fists, his elbows, throwing in a head butt as he slammed his knee into her groin.

"That's actually…cute," she taunted.

_She can't beat me! There's no way she can beat me! I've thought of every strategy, every angle, she can't kill me! _

He moved to attack again when suddenly; he stared down at his chest as he felt pain rip through his body. She'd thrown knives into his chest, while unable to see because he had stabbed out her eyes.

"Now you die!" Saiko took Slade's own sword and pinned him to the floor through the heart. She slashed his throat, and checked for a pulse. He was dead, and turned and left.

Slade felt his own healing powers begin to work as he waited for what seemed like an eternity when he reached up and pulled the sword out of his chest. It was extremely and even with his advanced healing, it would take some time for him to recover. He couldn't go to a hospital; he didn't have time to get into civilian clothes. There was only one place he could go, how ironic. He staggered out and walked to the ferry and snuck aboard as it went over to the other side. He crept off the boat and made his way towards the Tower.

"We have a perimeter breach!" Cyborg shouted to Robin, the others ran into the room and they all made their way outside ready to fight.

"Hello Titans," Slade said weakly. He suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched his side.

"If this is some act you're trying to pull, we won't fall for it!" Cyborg pointed his Sonic Cannon at him.

Slade staggered and fell before the Titans as they all gaped in shock. This wasn't just some villain; this was their arch nemesis, their greatest foe, beaten, bloody, and unmasked, coming to _them_ for help.

"What…happened to you?" Robin asked, stunned.

"An immortal assassin, I am very similar to these Talons, and yet she defeated me."

"Slade got his butt handed to him by a girl, totally sucks for you!" Beast Boy smirked.

"I do believe it was this "Saiko" you've all been aimlessly chasing," Slade grunted. "She's better than you thought."

"We beat her before and we can do it again," Beast Boy boasted.

"She was just testing you, I've seen how she fights, she could kill all of you. She's very good," Slade added. "I discovered something very interesting about her."

Slade handed the Titans a flash drive with a video file on it. Robin escorted Slade to the Tower infirmary. They might not like Slade, but they wouldn't let him die, they would at least give him medical attention.

The other Titans were watching the video. It was brutal, so brutal that the others were wincing at the sight of what Saiko was doing to Slade. But Robin had lived in Gotham City, he'd seen everything there. There wasn't anything that could surprise him.

Or so he thought.

He saw Saiko execute an acrobatic maneuver. It took everything he had to keep his jaw from dropping. It couldn't be real, what he was seeing was impossible. Slade was awake, but not strong enough to move.

Slade was resting in the infirmary; they had cameras all over the room, in case he tried to escape.

Slade saw Robin open the door. He didn't grab his enemy by the throat; no shouting or intimidation. He just looked Slade straight in the face.

"Did you doctor the video or change it in any way?" Robin's voice was very low, low enough it would not be picked up on the audio.

"Now Robin, why would I do something like that? Especially since I was nice enough to give you the footage in the first place."

"I don't put anything past you Slade," the teenager crossed his arms.

"Fair enough," Slade conceded. "But you saw _it_, didn't you?"

"Anyone can do that with enough training," Robin stared. "I can do _that_ without any trouble."

"That's just the problem, you're the only one on Earth who can do _that,_ even I know that, and you're not an acrobat anymore Grayson."

"Did you go anywhere near _them_?" Dick asked.

"No, I'm not smart enough, no…I'm not dumb enough to mess with anything that's dead," Slade sighed. "And I thought _I_ had problems."

"But why would they go after you? You're not such a nice guy yourself," Robin looked at the mercenary intently.

"Because they see me as a threat, I have my own plans for this city; let's just say they'll have to be put on hold. I promise that I'll lay low until this is over."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because as you could see in the video, she killed me, this "Court of Owls" is good enough that I might try to go after them, if I was in the mood. Why should I do all the work when you can do it all by yourself? I'm not doing this for _you_; I'm doing this for _me_."

"You're just saving yourself, as usual," Robin turned to leave. "Who do you think she is?"

"I never saw her face," Slade watched his enemy leave. "But I have my guesses."

"The obvious answer is ludicrous," Dick told him, "No one knows that better than me."


	3. Torment

**Torment**

Red X kept running as the Titans followed him. He had broken into a research facility that had been trying to create a variant of Zinothium.

"C'mon Chuckles, can't a guy catch a break?" Red X shouted.

"Sorry, Red X, it doesn't work that way."

Robin and the Titans attacked him. Robin beat him back with his Bo Staff as the thief launched Zinthoium created shuriken at him. Raven flew in and threw him across the room into the wall.

Beast Boy in rhino form barraled into Red X as the man barely managed to dodge, sending the shape shifter into a stack of crates. Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon and Starfire reached out and threw him across the room as he tried to avoid Cyborg's attack.

Raven gripped him in the aura of her powers as he sprayed out a stream of Zinothium, covering her in it. Raven took the hit and fell back. Robin launched himself using his Bo Staff and hit him in the chest.

"Nice, you guys have gotten better," Red X congratulated.

He created a pair of x-shaped blades and attacked Robin. He blocked them with his staff, and kicked Red X across the face.

Somersaulting back, Red X kicked Cyborg out of his way as he tried to run, only to be pinned down by Beast Boy in bear form.

X suddenly sent out a quick blast of Zinothium, causing the rafters above Beast Boy to fall on him as he jumped out of the way.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Red X was knocked back into the wall. He stared around, trying to see what had hit him. His masked eyes widened, it wasn't one of the titans. His cape was pinned to the wall by six knives, he looked up and saw a menacing figure looking down at him.

The Titans turned around and stared.

Robin saw the lightening flash as Saiko stood quite a distance away from him, but still within sight. She was deliberately taunting him to come after her, he could either fight Red X or her; he'd have to choose.

"Go after Red X, she's mine!"

Red X yanked himself away from the wall, tearing his cape apart in the process. He had to split, that person, whoever they were, they weren't like the Titans, he knew in his gut the person over on the roof was more than willing to kill him. He had to wonder why they were chasing him too. He hadn't stolen anything attached to extremely important people. Maybe he was a pawn in someone else's game. He didn't like that one it, but he really needed to get out of there before that person decided to kill him for real.

Robin used his grappling hook to get to the roof where Saiko was.

"Careful, I wouldn't want you getting hurt," Saiko greeted him.

"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt!" Robin scowled. He noticed her voice had a deep, inhuman quality to it, he couldn't really tell if she was alive or dead but it did seem strangely familiar.

The fight began on the warehouse, she began running across the roof and leaping from building to building. She leapt over a wire fence and she leapt across the balding and onto a nearby construction site and fell through the wooden boards, rolling to her feet. She began somersaulting and sprinting away.

Saiko ran ahead as Robin launched a Bird-a-rang at her. She quickly turned a corner and he missed.

She used her shoulder to break some boards blocking her path; she grabbed a fire extinguisher and jumped out a nearby window. Robin followed close behind.

She threw the fire extinguisher up and shot it, causing it to explode. Robin reacted in time and ducked behind a stack of concrete blocks.

He leapt out the window and gave chase. Robin hit the ground somersaulting to his feet and running after him. They began running across the metal beams, leaping from beam to beam.

Saiko leapt out and grabbed a rope hanging from the outside of the building and swinging around and dropping through the nearby skylight.

She ran through the building and climbed up the fire escape and onto another rooftop.

"Tell me what you're really doing here little birdie," Saiko taunted him. "A body honed to perfection. All your techniques mastered; years of training and plenty of silly toys so you can dress up as a hero who puts away the scum of a city."

"It's people like me who stop people like you!" Robin struck at her a few times with is Bo Staff; Saiko used her claws to parry them.

"What sidekick to the big scary Batman calls himself Robin? It's neither frightening nor intimidating! Kids get beat up for nicknames like that! You don't even impress me!" Robin received a viscous kick to the face.

Robin staggered back and flipped forward, bringing his booted foot down on her head.

He unleashed a fury of punches as he gripped a pair of escrima sticks and began pounding her with them. He rushed forward as Saiko stumbled as Robin brought his knee up into her face, over and over.

"You talk too much!" Robin hissed.

"What's the matter little Robin, don't like to talk?" Saiko asked with such hatred and venom that it caused him to hit her harder.

"You don't get to call me that!"

"It was a nickname, I see! I get it! I get it!" Saiko taunted. "Your mommy called you that, little Robin?"

Robin tried not to show any emotion on his face, but his body betrayed him.

"Your mother died didn't she? She was murdered right? That's how it works with most hero origins in comic books! She must have given you this _precious_ nickname as a term of endearment didn't she? It's _so_ sentimental…"

Robin clenched his fists, "Shut up!" _I can't let her get under my skin, gotta stay focused!_

"…And pathetic! You're just a sad little boy still crying because you miss mommy! Did _she_ make you that outfit? You look like a loser!"

Robin couldn't see or think straight anymore. All he could see was red, and all he could feel was rage.

"It's so interesting! Not even this Slade fellow can push your buttons like _I _can! Show me! Show me what you've always been, show me your potential!"

How did she know about that? Slade hadn't even mentioned Robin during her fight with him, he had confirmed that during the conversation they had earlier. Did she know that through instinct? She baffled and confused him. How did she know him so well when he hadn't even seen her before?

"You keep prattling on about potential and my legacy! Let's just get one thing clear, I'm nobody special!"

"You are a Grayson, your family has always been given a special destiny, you will take your rightful place as a Talon! It is the stars, the stars above us, govern our conditions."

"Quoting Shakespeare, heh, I will never be one of you, you're just like Slade, wanting someone to follow in your footsteps, you people aren't special at all, your plans, your schemes, just a bunch of common criminals in costumes! You're just another murder!"

"My stars shine darkly over me: the malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours."

"Speak plainly already!" Robin screamed.

"You think you have all the answers don't you? " Saiko asked. "You just waste your talents, pretending to be like Batman. You're nothing more than the nicer, lighter version of him. Nothing special."

Robin launched his explosive discs at her, knocking her off her feet. He leapt forward.

"Like that matters!" Robin's fury was beyond his control. This woman could tear apart everything about him, down to his core, who _was_ she?

Robin knocked her onto her back and struggled to reach for her mask. Pain ripped through his hand as she stabbed him with knives, keeping him away from what he'd been reaching for.

"No peeking little Robin," she knees him right in the groin, he groaned and she pinned him down with a knife through his own cape, she rested her hand over the R insignia on his chest with almost a sense of…_affection_?

_What the crap is going on?_ Robin's mind screams as he pushed her off him.

She bent down to his ear and whispered, "When I see you…you make me…"

"_Get off me_!" Robin rose up and tore his cape to shreds as he somersaulted back to his feet, kicking her in the head as he did so.

He beat her, over and over again; he was using techniques that Batman taught him but ones that he was forbidden to actually use in combat, mainly because they would kill the person he was attacking. He didn't care; he was fighting for his life.

He slammed his knee into her jaw; he grabbed his bird shaped shuriken and slashed her across the chest, causing her to bleed.

"It seems you don't feel any pain. I'm going to _make _you feel it!"

He linked his fingers together and began striking her over the head.

"It's so much fun seeing you all riled up little Robin, let's see if you can really fly!" She grabbed him and lifting him over her head, she hurled him into a nearby sign.

Robin's body slammed into the hard metal and he managed to catch himself. Scrambling to his feet, he charged, screaming in rage.

Saiko beat him back as he slipped and nearly fell off the roof.

She reached out and grabbed his hand.

"You saved me?" Robin asked, stunned.

"I'm not through with you," she threw him up into the air and as he landed, she swiped her wrist claws across his mask, causing half of it to come off.

Robin heard a loud clap of thunder; rain began to pour down as lightening flashed around them.

"Too slow!" Saiko somersaulted back with ease. Robin snap kicked her in the knees.

"Play harder little Robin, because I play much, much harder!" She popped her knees back in effortlessly. Robin used his bird-a-rang shuriken to create a sword.

"That's cute!" she exclaimed.

Their swords met, locked in combat, he wasn't like Slade; he stabbed her as she sliced shoulder. He executed a high kick and hit her in the face as he stabbed her in the chest.

He jammed his escrima sticks into Saiko's right eye. "Tell me who you are!"

"You can call me…Saiko," she smiled. "It hurts _so_ bad." She was taunting him. "You said you'd make me feel pain, aren't you going to keep your promise?"

She sprinted across the roof and viciously attacked him, but Robin had been pushed to the breaking point by her torment, both physical and verbally.

"_I'm sick…_" Robin locked her elbow as she tried to punch him. "_To death…_" backhanded her across the face. "…_Of you talking_! _So shut up_!"

He tackled her, sending her flying off the rooftop and down to the ground. She turned and ran; Robin threw explosive discs, once again knocking her off her feet. Robin grabbed her and sprinted forward, slamming Saiko through a wall and into an empty building.

He grabbed her and threw her down the stairs and kicked her in the gut as she bounced off the railing.

The woman wobbled, Robin gripped her by the throat. "Let me show you something!" He fired his grappling hook at the Sky Needle and took her to the highest point in Jump City.

"This is my city! With all the people coming and going. You and your people aren't going to disrupt their lives. Go tell your Court of Owls the Titans are coming for them! I will personally bring them down!"

"Be quiet!" Saiko hissed at him. She actually sounded winded.

Robin kicked her hard; he made his way towards her. He actually heard her groan.

"You look at me. Listen to me, you're nothing! You're just another killer. Savior of Gotham, Jump City? Don't make me laugh!"

"I _will_ hurt you, and may think that my code against killing is useless, but it's very _useful_. I'll cause you pain, _unimaginable_ pain, you don't even know what I will do to you. I will twist you and break you and won't be able to escape it, it will go on for an eternity, _because I won't let you die!_"

Saiko's eyes widened beneath her mask, the right eye lens shattered, revealing a green eye, wide with terror. Robin twisted her wrist and he heard it crack. He twisted her arm and it snapped.

"Nnngnnn!" Saiko groaned. Robin threw her across the metal roof of the Sky Needle. He crushed her knees under his steel-toed boots.

Robin planted his foot on her spine. "You're going to feel a lot of pain. Right. About. Now." He brought his full weight down on her spine.

"_AAAARRRRGGHHHH!"_ she screamed in such a way that Robin almost pitied her. Almost.

Robin hauled her up and threw her off the Sky Needle, using his grappling hook to grab her and slam her into the side of the tower.

He brought his staff down on her head over and over again. She weakly tried to block the blows as she tried to crawl away on her broken knees.

Robin dragged her back and slammed her into the wall. With a final effort, she got up and jumped off the Sky Needle.

Robin tried to shoot the grappling hook down to catch the assassin; it embedded itself in her leg.

"You don't get to save me!" she hissed as she used her claws to cut the line. The plummeted from sight and disappeared.

"No!" Robin screamed, reaching for her. A familiar feeling of helplessness washed over him. He hadn't felt this way in years, not since…

Robin began searching the alleyways for Saiko. She was long gone, but he had to be thorough. He was sure the Titans could handle Red X until he got there. Maybe they had caught him already.

The horrible sense of déjà vu plagued his mind, but the similarities terrified him. Maybe he'd talk to Raven about it later, she could understand these sorts of things. Still, Saiko's very presence made him feel as if he were being haunted by a ghost. But ghosts did come from the dead, so what did it all mean?

Robin recalled the woman's eyes. He couldn't get them out of his mind. He hadn't been able to see her face, but her eyes were something he wouldn't forget. Her eyes were just like his.

* * *

Saiko collapsed as she entered the abandoned building. No matter what she did, she could not kill Robin.

Her body hurt, she could feel the pain he inflicted on her, she wasn't regenerating. If the Court knew of her failure, they would be very displeased. She wouldn't tell them about her vicious fight with Robin. She found the electrum and injected herself with it.

"_When I see you…you make me…"_

What had compelled her to say that? It must be those dreams she kept having. She had felt a sense of affection when she'd been near Robin, but why? She never involved her emotions when she killed for the Court. But every time she saw Robin, she felt nothing but confusion.

She would finish this mission, she wouldn't fail. She would redeem herself for the Court of Owls. Changing the city was something she was meant to do. The Court would do many good things for Gotham, so why not Jump City?

Why did her need to recover her memories keep rearing its ugly head? Her memories didn't matter, but she couldn't stop thinking about it no matter what she did. Part of her wanted to know who she was and where she'd come from. Still, she was plagued by dreams of her past, but they were still in pieces, none of which gave her the complete story of her life. She wished that she couldn't remember anything at all, because her dreams haunted her so much.

Robin's face entered her mind again. The boy's distraught expression as she fell from the Sky Needle. Why did it seem so familiar? It didn't matter. She had to view him as a target to be eliminated, and nothing more.

She popped her knees back into place and stumbled over to the nearby table where she would find her supply of Electrum. She hadn't fought that hard in a long time, she couldn't underestimate the boy.

She ripped the mask off her face and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was covered in black blood and her pale skin glowed eerily in the dim light. She didn't even look human. Her blonde hair was stringy and thin and she looked spectacularly awful after her beating.

"Stupid little brat!" Elizabeth Lloyd hissed, spitting on the mirror as she fumbled for the Electrum. She was thankful there was still some for her to inject into her body. Enraged, she smashed the mirror to pieces with her fist.

She felt it moving through her body and rested her body on her bed. She knew William was gone and she was grateful. Elizabeth Lloyd was angry; she'd been beaten by a mere child. She wouldn't hesitate to kill him the next time. There would definitely be a next time; she thought she would have had an advantage facing him alone.

She clenched her fist in rage, next time, she was going to take that little birdie and rip his wings out.

"I'm going to kill you little Robin, I promise you that. I'll have my hands around your throat and you'll be looking into my eyes as you die!"

She shut her eyes and for once, she didn't dream about anything, she just wanted to rest in the silence of her mind. For once in a very long time, she got what she wanted.


	4. Connections

**Chapter Four Connections **

**_Author's Note: _**_Our hearts and prayers go out to the families in Aurora, Colorado; we stand with you all in this tragic time. It's sad that the fictional Batman, who has always been associated with tragedy, is now connected to a real life tragedy. Our prayers and thoughts are for you. _

_To any media that tries to pin the blame on Batman, this character has always stood for protecting other people, and James Holmes is, in the words of Batman himself, "You're just a thug. No matter what they've told you. No matter what you've told yourself. You're not special…and now…You're finished."_

_We honor the heroic and the deceased and pray for comfort for everyone involved._

* * *

Robin kept searching for Saiko, throughout the city, still nothing, he headed back to the Titans, they had managed to disarm Red X and take his utility belt.

Robin heard a call over the police radio. Robin and the other Titans made their way to the crime scene. Robin saw a detective waiting for him.

"Detective Blake," Robin smiled. The young man had transferred out of Gotham City, hoping for a better work environment across the country. Robin had met him a few times; he had been surprised to see the young hero there.

"I thought I should call you, we both have seen stuff like this before," Detective Blake showed the Titans into the apartment.

Inside the apartment, there was a body pinned to the wall, Beast Boy tried his best not to vomit, Raven raised an eyebrow, Cyborg winced, and Starfire gasped in horror.

The body was pinned to the wall, he looked like he had been tortured, he was riddled with holes from at least 50 throwing knives. There was blood everywhere.

Robin picked up a throwing knife and examined it. He noticed the symbol of an owl engraved at the bottom of the handle on the knife.

"Thank you for your help Officer Blake," Robin thanked the man. "We'll stop this as soon as possible."

"Oh Robin, we gotta go!" Beast Boy reminded him.

"huh?" the two men looked at him.

"Dude, why'd you look at me?" Beast Boy asked the officer.

"Sorry, my name is Robin. I got confused for a second; I thought you were talking to me."

"Dude, what are the odds of that?" Beast Boy asked Cyborg.

"They're very, very slim," Cyborg replied, laughing.

"Do you smell something Beast Boy?" Robin looked at his friend.

"Yeah, the paint thinner's really strong in here, it's starting to bother my nose."

"I do think…" Robin pulled out a lighter, "Someone left a message for me to find."

"What sort of message would that be?' Starfire asked.

Robin walked over to a wall; Beast Boy could really smell the strong paint fumes now.

Robin lit the wall on fire; Raven stared in surprise as the flames took shape into a message.

_"Dick Grayson dies tomorrow."_

"Good luck with that," Officer Blake smirked. "Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne's adopted son, his security has security."

"Isn't that dude out of the country, some vacation in Kravia or something or other?" Beast Boy asked.

"I heard that the Dick Grayson was over in New York City with a model Cheyenne Freemont," Starfire appeared thoughtful.

"It doesn't matter where Dick Grayson is, we'll catch this Saiko by tomorrow," Raven looked over at them.

"Thank you for your time Officer Blake we'll handle this from here," Robin turned and left.

Back at Titans Tower, Raven tried to sense Saiko's inhuman presence while Cyborg searched surveillance cameras for any sign of the assassin. Robin ran up a few leads through the Titans mainframe, but while he ran the search through the computer, he decided to visit Raven regarding Saiko's strange behavior during his fight with her.

Robin knocked politely on Raven's door. She answered it.

"Do you need something?"

"There's something I need to ask you. Can I come in? What I need to say is private."

"Yes, of course," Raven let him in, she didn't normally let people into her room, being a very private person, but she knew Dick wouldn't take advantage of her in any way and he was being very serious.

"I need to tell you about what happened with Saiko, maybe you can help me understand some things she said to me."

He described the fight in detail, everything she had said to him, even his responses. Raven appeared thoughtful.

"When I see you…you make me…" Raven repeated the words, trying to discern their meaning. "She also called you by the term of endearment your mother used? That's what got you to lose your temper. Maybe, she's someone you knew from the circus. A lot of people knew your parents and maybe she knew you when you were little."

"I remember a lot of people from when I was little, but I don't remember anyone who treated me like she did."

"Deep down, you _know_ who she is," Raven gave him a serious look.

"Raven, I _really_ don't know her," he protested.

"Your mind doesn't, but your heart does, and you'll have to figure out how to save her."

"That doesn't make any sense; she doesn't act like she wants to leave the Court of Owls."

"It'll all make sense in time," Raven reassured him. Robin smiled.

"Who do _you_ think she is Raven?" he asked, Raven leaned over and whispered her answer.

"That'll happen when monkeys fly outta my butt!" Robin laughed. He became serious. "It couldn't be true Raven, I saw it happen, it's just not possible. You've seen my memories, you saw it happen too."

"Don't say that so loud, you might give Beast Boy ideas," Raven quipped.

He laughed again.

"Robin, you know that I'm right."

"I won't jump to conclusions yet, I'll cover every possible angle before I will even _consider_ that idea."

"I could be wrong about this, but there's just too much pointing to only one conclusion.

"Maybe I'll finally be able to make sense of what's going on," he got up and left. "Thanks Raven."

Someone from his past, huh? And Haly Circus was arriving today, that couldn't be a coincidence. All roads were leading back to his old home and everything seemed to center around him.

He was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing he did.

Beast Boy decided to follow up on his owl lead. He'd done some research, being a young man who knew a lot about animals, he discovered that the owl he'd seen was definitely native to the Gotham area.

He spotted that owl, transforming into one, he flew after it, staying far enough away that it wouldn't notice, but close enough that he could track it. He followed it, and where it led him surprised Beast Boy.

He recognized the big top, it was on one of the bills in Dick's evidence room, Haly Circus, Dick's old home. What did those crazy assassins have to do with their leader? He tried to make sense of it, but nothing fit.

He decided to fly back to the Tower, and let the others know what he had discovered.

Starfire was watching the afternoon news when they mentioned that the world famous Haly Circus had arrived in Jump City.

"Oh, the circus arrived! Robin did you not say that the circus you grew up in was coming to the city?"

"And we're going to go, but not in uniform."

"We will go in civilian clothing yes?" Starfire asked, "Why?"

"Because we could use a day off," Robin laughed.

"Rich'ard?" Starfire asked.

"Just because I'm giving you and the others off doesn't mean that I've stopped working, I'm going to Haly Circus on business too."

Dick Grayson moved over to where she was standing behind him, he bent down and kissed her on the lips, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I'm not going to die tomorrow, I promise."

"I do feel reassured, but I am still worried about you Rich'ard."

"You've never said my real name before, it sounds strange coming from you," Dick smiled, "But I'll get used to you calling me that."

Beast Boy walked in, looking at Robin, "I found something really interesting, that owl I saw the one that showed up when we were first attacked by Saiko, it flew off to Haly Circus."

"All roads lead back to Haly's, it's time I got ready to go." Robin went into his room and changed into a pair of jeans, a shirt and a biker jacket.

The others came out dressed in civilian clothes. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at Raven, "Did not think you were the type to wear a low cut shirt. Is that a tattoo on your lower back?"

"Why are you acting like this is a big deal?" Raven asked.

"Because this is you we're talking about here," Beast Boy observed.

"I'm not making a big deal about how you look, so you shouldn't make a big deal about how I look."

"At least you're not wearing a thong," Beast Boy muttered, Raven looked like she was going to kill him.

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. Again."

"Yes Ma'am!" he squeaked. He didn't bring it up again.

Vic wore his holographic generator to look normal, wearing a black shirt and jeans.

Starfire wore a T-shirt and hot pants, Robin smiled, also raising an eyebrow at Raven. It must have been all that shopping at the mall and Starfire was starting to rub off on her.

They both headed out in a normal looking car that Cyborg had in the garage in case they needed to go somewhere without being noticed.

The car pulled into the parking lot. The workers were hustling about; making sure everything was set up.

People were walking around, "Hey Dick Grayson, is that you?"

"Jimmy!" he smiled. Jimmy was a clown at Haly's Circus, he wasn't always in the best mood, but he did seem happy to see him. "How are things going?"

"I'm putting on a show in Jump City—Terrible!"

"Still temperamental," he chuckled. His friends looked at him.

"You know some strange people," Gar commented.

"Look who's talking," Raven joked.

"Dick Grayson, it's nice to see you again," a cheerful voice called him. He turned around.

"Raya Vestri, is that you?" Dick hadn't seen her in a long time. She was a childhood friend he'd not seen since he was 12.

"These are my friends, Vic Stone, Garfield Logan, Rachel Roth, and my girlfriend Kori Anders."

"Nice to meet you," Raya greeted all of them. "How 'bout you get up on the wire, show us what you can do. Or did you forget where you come from already?"

He got up to the trapeze bar and performed and aerial routine, it was easy for him to remember, but he deliberately held back on his acrobatic skills, he let them think he was a little rusty.

Raya clapped appreciatively, "Very nice. You still look rusty though. Let me know if you ever need a job, not that you do, being rich and all. I'll see you later okay, I've got to go work." The redhead turned and left.

"Dude, you have a thing for redheads," Gar observed.

"What?" Dick asked.

"You like redheads, you dated Batgirl, you're dating Starfire and this Raya girl has red hair too, and she totally digs you!"

"But Gar, I'm just being nice," Dick protested.

"Whatever," Gar laughed. "How do you manage to track the ladies?"

"That's enough," Dick glared at him.

"Okay."

Dick turned his thoughts back to Raya Vestri, she seemed to be the person he remembered, but he couldn't help being suspicious about he r for some reason, it was as if she was hiding something.

There would be time to investigate her, but first he was going to see Mr. Haly.

"She does seem nice," Starfire noticed.

"That's true, but I sensed she was hiding something," Raven looked over at Dick, who nodded in agreement.

"So what do you want us to do?" Gar asked.

"Just enjoy yourselves for now, leave all the grunt work to me."

* * *

Elizabeth Lloyd paced up and down in the abandoned building; William Cobb was gone, out on business. She'd been training, preparing herself to fight Robin, she wasn't going to lose to the little brat again, she would have his head, or he would join them.

Her head began to pound; she let out a groan and fell to her knees.

_"It's just a nursery rhyme honey,"_ she tried to placate him.

_"Nothing's just a nursery rhyme, especially when it comes out of Gotham City."_

_"The Court of Owls isn't real."_

_"You never know, but every time I hear that, it gives me the creeps."_

"Memories…why? I don't care about my past, it doesn't matter anymore!"

There was nothing for her but silence.

She saw the door open and William Cobb enter, "I see that you aren't doing anything. Well, here is a chance to redeem yourself. Go to Haly Circus and contact the Ringmaster, the crop of candidates for Talons is ready. You must pick Grayson's successor."

"I'll go then," she got up and changed out of the body armor into civilian clothing.

She used a holographic projector to completely change her appearance to a pretty brunette and walked outside, heading straight to Haly Circus.

The smell of sawdust, the sounds of the circus, it was all…familiar to her. She knew this place, but she didn't know why. She had never been to Haly Circus before! Not on missions, and she'd never been sent to help choose the next Talon? Why did this place seem so familiar to her?

She could navigate the grounds like someone who had been there before. She could instinctively know her way around.

Elizabeth Lloyd made her way towards the Ringmaster.

"The Court of Owls has sent me to choose the next Talon. Let me see the best of your athletes."

The Ringmaster, C. C. Haly led her to an ordinary looking tent. Inside were members of the Court of Owls. All masked, eagerly awaiting their "private show", at least that's what they told the acrobats, Elizabeth knew that this was how they chose the next Talon, and she would help them pick the man who would succeed Dick Grayson.

"I have to go, someone wants to see me," C.C. Haly said, he left. Elizabeth watched the show, seeing the acrobats perform, she saw a young man who had the potential. Raymond was his name.

One of the Court came up to her, "Which one?" she asked.

Elizabeth gestured to Raymond. "He'll do."

"You've chosen well; consider yourself redeemed in the eyes of the Court of Owls. Now go. We will send you further instructions when we need you."

She exited the tend and began walking out, suddenly, she collided with a young man, both fell to the ground, she was stunned for a moment as the young man climbed to his feet.

"Hey, need some help?" he offered his hand to her politely.

Dick Grayson. It was Dick Grayson, her target that she was to kill. He'd walked right into the midst of the Court's activities and not even known it. She had a knife on her, one swift movement and she could kill him, and have completed her mission.

She inconspicuously put her hand behind her back, appearing to push herself to her feet, but she was reaching for her knife. But she found that she once again could not move, couldn't bring herself to strike the fatal blow.

"Thank you, I'm fine," she found herself saying without even thinking. She got to her feet and walked away.

Dick Grayson had seen the woman put her hand behind her back, he wondered if she was going for a weapon and he'd had his bo staff behind his back, ready to block any attack, but then she brought out both her hands, revealing she wasn't holding anything.

"Are you lost? Do you need something?" Dick asked.

"No…I don't…need anything…" Elizabeth wandered off, dazed.

Dick turned and left, meeting up with his friends.

"Let's go home guys," he smiled.

"You met with Mr. Haly?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, and he gave me a clue, but I have to figure it out."

"What is it?" Starfire asked.

"The answer is in the heart. I wonder what it means?"

"We'll all figure it out," Cyborg smiled.

"It can't be too difficult with all of us," Raven was thoughtful; "It's definitely a cryptic message, no mistaking that."

"Did you all have fun?" Dick asked.

"Yes, the cotton candy is delicious!" Starfire said, still eating hers. Dick smiled.

They got back into their car and drove home. It was time to go to work, not only did they have patrol duty, but they had to solve this riddle, before Haly Circus left and all the riddles departed with them.

* * *

Elizabeth Lloyd was beyond stupefied, how could she let her unarmed target just walk away? She'd never blundered so much before this one. It was as if something inside her just wouldn't let her hurt some boy she barely knew.

She took orders from a seven year old girl, for God's sake! She'd murdered before without even losing sleep, so why was it so hard for her now?

It was that boy Dick Grayson, suddenly, her head ached, she clutched her skull, trying to ease the pain somehow.

What was going on? What was wrong with her? Was it her memories? Was it this place?

Yes, yes, that was it! It was Haly's Circus, her memories were here and she knew if she stayed here they would come back. She wondered around the grounds that were so familiar to her.

She stumbled into a room full of old bills, posters that advertised various acts. She saw one; it struck her far more than the others.

It was a Flying Angel…

**Author's Note: **_Found a great Robin/Stafire fanfic "Crimes of Passion" by Sir Alwick, it may be M rated, but it's well worth your time to read. Tell him GuardianSoulBlade sent you from" Fractured Memories", and tell him to update while you're at it._


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